Ireland, Netherlands to pull out of Eurovision if Israel competes

The Eurovision Song Contest will mark its 70th anniversary in Vienna next May. It was watched by 166 million people on television in 2025.

By JNS

Ireland and the Netherlands will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel takes part.

Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ said on Thursday that Ireland will make its final decision once the European Broadcasting Union decides whether “the participation of Israel goes ahead.”

“RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza. RTÉ is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages,” said RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst.

The following day, Dutch broadcaster AvroTros announced it will join Ireland in the boycott, citing the “high number of journalists that have died in Gaza” as its rationale, according to Reuters.

The Netherlands’ “participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will not be possible as long as Israel remains admitted by the EBU,” AvroTros said, according to AFP.

“If the EBU decides not to admit Israel, AvroTros will be happy to participate next year,” it added.

Eurovision Director Martin Green on Thursday said his organization understood the “concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” Reuters reported.

“We are still consulting with all EBU members to gather views on how we manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest,” Green said in an email.

“Broadcasters have until mid-December to confirm if they wish to take part in next year’s event in Vienna. It is up to each member to decide if they want to take part in the contest and we would respect any decision broadcasters make,” he added.

Irish Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers said that he supports and respects RTÉ’s decision. He further stated that he was not aware of any contact between the broadcaster and the Irish government about the decision.

The Dublin Broadcasting Branch, a local chapter of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ireland, said that it “strongly welcomes RTÉ’s clear statement that it would be unconscionable for Ireland to participate next year” and believes the stance “reflects the views of staff working at the broadcaster, and those of the Irish public that we serve.”

It went on to urge other European broadcasters to follow suit “as a matter of urgency.”

RTÉ reported that Spanish and Slovenian broadcasters raised the topic with the European Broadcasting Union as well.

The Eurovision Song Contest will mark its 70th anniversary in Vienna next May. It was watched by 166 million people on television in 2025.

The contest in Basel, Switzerland, this year and Malmö, Sweden, in 2024 were accompanied by large anti-Israel demonstrations over the war against Hamas in Gaza, which was started by a Hamas-led invasion and massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Forty-eight hostages remain in the Gaza Strip, of whom up to 20 are believed by Israel to be still alive.